Characterization and Analysis of Farming System in Central Oromia, Ethiopia

Designing agricultural transformation strategies that modernize small-scale farming in Ethiopia require actions built upon solid, holistic baselines, and affordable technical intervention. A study was conducted to identify and prioritize the production systems and major production constraints of farming of the study area. Study was conducted in four zones of Oromia region: West shewa, South west shewa, North shewa and Oromia special zone of surrounding fin fine. The selection of the zones and districts was done purposively based on the agro ecology. Themain methods used to gather the data were survey, key informant interviews, group discussions, observations and reviewing of secondary data from different sources. Sample size was 200 randomly selected far farm households. Descriptive ways of analysis method were applied using SPSS version 20. The study was focused on major characteristics of crop production, livestock production, and natural resources management. The study revealed that mixed crop-livestock production system was found as the dominant farming system with the average landholding is less than 2 ha per family size of five. The dominant crop was cereal and pulse crop followed with vegetable. Mixed crop-livestock production, peri-urban, and urban dairy farming system were the identified livestock production system in the study area. Livestock production is subsistence-oriented and is an important component of the mixed farming system and is well integrated with crop production. The study indicated that major constraints of agricultural production in the area are farm land shrinkage, crop disease, insect-pests, inadequate livestock feed resources, lack of improved seed and input, less farming mechanization, less attention on irrigation production, no legal limitation between upper and lower stream among irrigation product, water pollution from urban for irrigated products, and less attention given to the livestock sector by government. So, concerned body will invited to intervene through lessening the main constraints mentioned.

Keywords: Farming system characterization, opportunities, constraints, central Oromia.